Legislation banning the “dismemberment” of a fetus is being pitched as a game changer because it could outlaw an entire type of abortion procedure, pro-life activists said. “Dismemberment” abortions refer to procedures in which doctors use surgical instruments, such as sharp-toothed forceps, to twist and tear away the limbs of a living fetus to cause its death.

As a family therapist, I often have the impulse to tell families to go home and have dinner together rather than spending an hour with me. And 20 years of research in North America, Europe and Australia back up my enthusiasm for family dinners. It turns out that sitting down for a nightly meal is great for the brain, the body and the spirit. And that nightly dinner doesn’t have to be a gourmet meal that took three hours to cook, nor does it need to be made with organic arugula and heirloom parsnips.

Family violence offenders could face tougher punishments in the courts if the Royal Commission believes it will reduce a problem that is the leading cause of death and disability for women under 45 in Victoria.

A Christian magistrate has been disciplined by a Tory Cabinet Minister for expressing the belief that children should be raised by both a mother and a father. Richard Page told colleagues behind closed doors during an adoption case that he thought it would be better for a child to be brought up in a traditional family rather than by a gay couple.

Illegal clinics are luring high school and college-age girls in China with the promise of large payments for their eggs. The procedure can damage the girls’ health and future child-bearing, and the clinics are offering no legal or medical help if complications ensue.

Champion ironwoman Hayley Bateup is “super excited” her long-time partner April Zekulich is pregnant with their much-wanted baby. “We have hoped for this for so long,” says the three-time Coolangatta Gold winner.

The Abbott government is facing fresh calls to delay the introduction of its higher-education reforms, with a vice-chancellor breaking ranks with the sector to support limits on the amount universities can charge for a degree.

No doubt there will be plenty of debate generated by a series of lectures in Australia next month by Danish physician Professor Peter Gøtzsche, managing director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre based at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. Professor Gøtzsche and two Australian colleagues, psychiatrists Professor Jon Jureidini and Dr Peter Parry, argue that the harms of psychiatric drugs have been under-played and the benefits over-sold.

Writers are speaking out about the way terrorist attacks in France have been covered in the media compared to Nigeria. Boko Haram continues to wreak havoc in Nigeria and its surrounding countries; a devastating attack in Baga last week left at least 150 civilians dead, though some reports claimed the death toll reached as high as 2,000. Still, coverage of attacks in Paris dominate news outlets.